nismoskyz

::Hatch S13
::KA24DE

Recently, out of nowhere, my car started making this terrible screeching sound that comes in right at about 2850 RPM and only gets worse as the RPMs increase. The sound stays at a steady loud volume from about 3500RPM on up.

It seems to only come when the clutch fan is on, and the noise actually disappeared for about a week, then just came in again this Friday.
Now, normally the clutch fan isn't on all the time, but since Friday, everytime I drive the car, it hasn't gone off for a moment. (driven in ambient temps from 50 degrees to 90 degrees, fan still on)

*What causes the clutch fan to turn on in the first place?
*Why isnt it turning off?
*How can I fix that noise? .. is there any spray or something to possibly lube something up, or is it some belt that has worn out?

video:YouTube - KA screach noise
*updated link

I'd really appreciate some help here
thanks


**SOLVED**
The problem has been fixed by replacing my fan clutch, which I believe was seizing up and causing the belts to slip.

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Razi

Sounds like a belt that's slipping.

ryguy

I agree. Probably your water pump belt. I bet it started once it started getting colder out.

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nismoskyz

Well it only seems to happen when the clutch fan kicks in though.. and the clutch fan hasn't stopped at all for a few days now every time i drive..

weather here fluctuates alot though.. we'll have 65 degrees one day and 95 the next.. lol, we don't get real 'seasons' .. climate seems to change by the week :P

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Razi

Maybe that extra load from the clutch fan is making it slip, not sure.

Check your belts sometime, see if they look worn.

ryguy

That's what I was thinking. I don't run a fan, so I don't know how often the clutch fan is supposed to be engaged, but I do know a slipping belt makes a horrible, LOUD squealing noise.

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JayDee M Rolly

sounds like a clutchfan, mine made that exact sound

nismoskyz

you're right it was...

i went to some mech shop yesterday and the guy pointed out to me how difficult the fan was to turn by hand and was charging around $120 to replace it.

i went home and vacuumed the fan clutch area while tapping the area with a tool to shake some more dust off and a lot of it came out.
got some PB Blaster and just kept spraying it in the center area of the fan clutch, though the opening was tiny and i kept rotating the fan left and right trying to free it up.

eventually it became smooth as butter. i started up the car and sure enough, the fan finally didnt stay on loud-mode, and revved up to 3K+ and no squeak!
however, i drove the car last night and just after i got off the fwy, it seems the bearings might have locked up again and the fan turned on again and the belt squeak noise came back.

i got some "white lithium grease" spray from autozone and sprayed that stuff in last night and once again got the fan to spin very smoothly. drove the car again and So far, still spinning smoothly.

i do have a bunch of freeplay in the fan clutch though.. i'm sure it's going to need replacing, but at least i have a temporary fix.


So about that belt noise.. im thinking that maybe since the fan was being forced to stay on, after the fan got to it's max speed, as the engine speed continued rising (around 3K RPM is where the screeching sound came in), maybe the fan was forcing some belts to spin slower than the engine and therefore caused them to slip??

thanks a lot for all your suggestions
-nismoskyz

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aznpoopy

what the hell

the fan clutch is a viscous sealed unit. it has fluid inside that locks up as it gets hotter, locking the fan. yes, when the fan clutch goes it seizes. as you figured out, the belt slips when the locked fan gets up to speed.

you shouldn't be spraying anything into it to get it to 'free up.'
all you need to do is get another clutch unit and replace it.
it takes maybe thirty minutes to get it done and the unit is cheap. maybe 50 bucks from autozone.

nismoskyz

well i dont really know how far in the spray penetrated, but i sprayed it into the center of the fan clutch and it worked by making the fan spin smoothly again.. but idk how long it will last.

you're right though i am in need of another fan clutch.. there should be some good used ones floating around i hope.. autozone charging $50 - $90

..or maybe the spray i put in there did nothing and the only reason it became smooth was because i kept rotating the fan left and right? it really feels much smoother now though.. the spray had to do something.

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adam bergener

or you could go to the junk yard and get a E fan for around that i got a honda fan lol just wired to a switch

CrazyKoukiS14

belt slipping

S-Nation S13

Belt slippin change out powersteerin and alt youll be fine if you change one change the other saves you the hassel if the one you didnt change slips like a day after you change the previous one.. done!!

nismoskyz

Actually, I have since replaced the fan clutch with another (better) used one and the noise has disappeared entirely.

I didn't have to touch any of the belts

I believe that my old fan clutch was seizing up and messing up the belt speeds causing them to slip.

thanks

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reinvent

I dont think there is anything wrong with your original fan clutch. They start off very stiff until the oil warms up from the fan rotating. They are on all the time as far as I know. If you drive around for awhile, your fan has more free spin. (when engine turned off). The fan clutch has a bimetal strip on the front which causes the fan to get tighter as temperature goes up but i think this only happens when hood down and temperature quite high.

Is your new fan clutch as stiff as the old when you car is completely cold?

your belt or pulley is glazed , likely. or belt was loose.

other people i have talked to say that new fan clutches are stiff when new. ie they only spin about a third of the way around

ryguy

The fan clutch is more loose when it's cold, and gets tighter as the vehicle heats up. The inside is filled with hydraulic oil that expands when it heats, pushing the clutch together. It should still have good resistance when it's cold, if not there's likely no hydraulic oil in the clutch anymore. That's wierd that changing the fan clutch made the noise go away.

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Felipe

i say it squeels again later on.... just because i say its one of the belts.

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Late Night Crew #1

kouki_matt

stop being cheap asses and go get a new one i got one at autozone and three months later it locked by a good one from nissan and do it once pm me if you think im wrong

nismoskyz

dude, use some punctuation.

btw, i got a used oem fan clutch (for free) and its been working great.

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S14Cuhh

on my car i ahd a ps fluid leak running on the belt. thats what made my squeal. but once the car was warm it didnt anymore

bmar240sx

You have a loose wire that at any time move and get eaten by the clutch fan i suggest you fix that

nismoskyz

I think I remember that wire being pretty tight in its position, but I'll definitely take another look at it just to make sure. Thanks for the tip.

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CrazyKoukiS14

cfan or belt